1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved, automated infant massager, and more specifically, it relates to such a massager which is structured to be used on premature infants and can be adapted for use with full-term infants.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hospitals aiming to help highly-compromised premature infants by a range of medical interventions must typically separate these babies from their parents at birth. Usually isolated in incubators that protect them, these preemies receive significantly less touching than full-term babies in the first days and weeks of life. In fact, many intensive care nurseries have, in the past, discouraged any “unnecessary” touching of neonates, in part because some early reports claimed that certain procedures involving handling, e.g., incubation and diaper changes, led to physiological disruptions, such as decreases in oxygen tension. To some extent, the medical community interpreted these reports as cautions against touching neonates in any other-than-essential manner until the 1986 study at TRI by Field et al., which marked a turning point of premature touch therapy protocol. At TRI, Field et al. documented the effects of touch on forty premature infants. The researchers used a basic infant massage consisting of simple body strokes and passive limb movements for three fifteen-minute periods a day for ten days. The study results showed that the preemies who received massage: (1) averaged a 47 percent greater weight gain, even though the groups did not differ in average food intake (in calories or volume) (which increases their survival rate by 30%); (2) were awake and active a greater percentage of the time and (3) exhibited greater alertness, orientation, and responsiveness on the Brazelton Neonatal Behavior Assessment Scale.
Other studies have supported these findings and defeated the “common wisdom” about preterm neonates presumed hyper-responsiveness to touch. Acolet et al. showed, for example, that gentle massage of the head and back of the ICU neonate does not increase the need for oxygen, but in fact, helps the infant cope physiologically with stress. Other studies showed greater weight gain, motor activity and alertness in preterm neonates who did not require intensive care. A meta-analysis by Ottenbacher et al. of 19 stimulation studies illustrated that most preterm infants were positively affected by touch stimulation, typically with greater weight gain and better performance on developmental tests. Follow-up research has suggested that massage has long-term benefits for premature infants. Eight months after being massaged in the neonatal ICU, the stimulated babies continued to gain more weight and perform better on developmental tests than a control group.
Despite the medical benefits of massage, it is time-consuming and requires a trained nurse, which makes its incorporation into the neonatal intensive care unit difficult.
Another reason why infant massage has not been widely implemented is due to the current nursing shortage, which is estimated to reach about one million by the year 2020.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,088,124 discloses an apparatus said to prevent apnea in a premature infant. This is accomplished by placing an infant on a waterbed and establishing controlled flow of fluid oscillations of the fluid of low amplitude and predetermined frequency under the infant.
Additional prior art patents of general interest are as follows:
TitleU.S. Pat. No.Massaging Device for Chairs with Guide Rail7,004,916Chair Massage6,454,731Cyclically Driven, Straightly and Reciprocally6,402,709Moving Massage DeviceMassaging Mattress6,052,852Mechanical Massaging Device7,175,592Massaging Bed with Light6,814,709Pulsating Muscle Massaging Device5,951,501Personal Cuddling & Massaging Device5,125,399Treatment of Colic Infants4,754,747Method & Apparatus for Therapeutic Motion and Sound4,681,096Treatments of InfantsElectrochemical Massage Apparatus4,834,075Massaging Blanket6,142,963Sleeping Inducing Devices5,063,912Body Contour Massage Device5,820,573Therapeutic Treatments Machine5,505,691Massage Machine5,054,472Apparatus for Massaging the Body by Cyclic Pressure &5,052,377ConstituentPunctual Massager Using Vertical Rotary Movements of4,777,945Massaging PinsMassage Device3,994,290Portable Massager6,478,755Method for Treating Premature Infants4,088,124Portable Vibrating Sleep Pad6,175,981